My name is Valerie, but many call me Val. I was born and raised in the hills of West Virginia, where each fall the mountains paint themselves with brilliant reds, yellows, and oranges. It is where I developed my strong will, strong passion, and strong roots.
But I crave adventure.
I danced along the Mediterranean Sea, surrounded by blissful sunflowers. I walked a two-foot wide catwalk 876 feet above rushing water. I got my phone back from a pickpocket, and I moved to New York City with my 20-pound cat, fulfilling my childhood dancing dreams.
I thrive in the delicate balance of seemingly contradicting spheres. I’m filled with sass and filled with love. I adore daisies and red wine, writing poetry and evolving experiences.
I may be but little… well, I’ll let Shakespeare handle that line.
Biography
Valerie Bailey is a dancer, creator, and movement storyteller who has a strong artistic desire to create work that illuminates topics often misunderstood. This was first highlighted through her work Memories Live Within the Heart (2012), which focuses on her grandmother’s 16-year journey with Alzheimer’s disease, and continued with her most recent work Porch Swing Melodies (2018), which pushes against the stereotypes often associated with West Virginia and Appalachia, instead shining a positive light on the region.
Her dance training began in Clarksburg, WV under the direction of Bonnie and Michael McGowan, where she was an apprentice for Kitchen Sink Dance Company. Graduating summa cum laude from West Virginia University with degrees in Exercise Physiology and Dance, Valerie has also studied in the US and abroad with teachers such as David Dorfman, Jen Nugent, and the late Betty Jones, and performed in countless works, including three seasons of NYC Children’s Theater’s adaptation of Allegra Kent’s Ballerina Swan.
After seven years of living and dancing in New York City, Valerie returned to her home state of West Virginia in 2019 with a deepened passion to connect to the community through art. With Tinkered Dance, which she established in 2016, as well as her improvisation projects – Improvs By Request, Spontaneous Artist Collaborations, and Improv Thursdays – Valerie strives to break down barriers individuals may feel between themselves and art, inviting them to collaborate, encouraging them to ask questions, and welcoming them into the beautiful limitless world of dance.
In addition to Tinkered Dance creations, you can find Valerie dancing in her kitchen with her sweet husband, Thomas, and adorable daughter, Lottie.